Category: Sustainable Agriculture
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Seedstock.com March 28, 2013 A new educational program in Cowlitz County, Wash., is taking the fear out of gardening and enabling people who are limited by financial or physical hardship to experience the rewards of having their own garden. In the program’s first year, there were 22 applicants vying for 10 spots; this year, there…
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Seedstock.com March 21, 2013 A wastewater treatment plant as the site for an urban farm may seem unusual, but for Michael Boyle, a professor at Seattle University in the Environmental Studies department and director of the Urban Farm, the pairing is a natural fit. “In our time, there can’t be waste,” Boyle explains, and it…
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Seedstock.com March 7, 2013 During this time of year, Rising River Farm’s namesake, the Chehalis River, flows fast and steady, and even though the rainy weather makes it seem that spring is months away, Jennifer Belknap is itching to get outside. Even after 15 years of co-running Rochester, WA-based Rising River Farm with her husband,…
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Seedstock.com February 20, 2013 It’s quiet right now at the Greenhorn Ranch, but come Friday, after the first batch of chicks is delivered, Terry Gentry and Joan Hurst will be busy for the next eight months nurturing and processing chickens. As owners of G & H Pastured Poultry LLC, their mission is to raise healthy…
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Seedstock.com February 18, 2013 Soil is not just a growing medium; it is an ecosystem whose health affects the yield and taste of produce. “Synthetic fertilizer increases [crop] yield,” says J.D. Tovey, chief marketing officer of Carbon Cultures, “but it’s artificial. Biochar is about increasing the health of the soil.” And that is the mission…
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Seedstock.com February 11, 2013 It is expected that crops and, in turn, revenue may be lost to pests, but through the use of integrated pest management and farmscaping, the crop damage caused by native pests can mitigated. However, when exotic, or invasive, species enter a farm’s ecosystem, traditional IPM practices designed to work with native…
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Seedstock.com February 4, 2013 He wasn’t aware of any urban bee pollination companies, and if the idea still sounded reasonable after a night’s sleep, Corky Luster decided he would pursue such a venture. The idea still sounded reasonable in the morning, and so, the Ballard Bee Company began. Read more…
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Seedstock.com January 24, 2013 On a brisk Saturday morning at the Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands, located in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle, 10 volunteers are laying cardboard and wood chips over an area recently choked with invasive plant species of reed canary grass and Himalayan blackberry. The creation of this urban farm,…
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Seedstock.com January 11, 2013 Though students are expected to learn about sustainable farming when volunteering at the University of Washington Farm, for some, their volunteer experience cultivates confidence, leadership skills, and friendships within a close-knit community of students who just enjoy gardening and sharing wholesome food. Read more…
Writings by Andrea Watts 